The Secret of the Black Rose
In Halfeti, the famous black roses are about to bloom in Granny Zelda's garden on the banks of the Euphrates. But the cutting his cousin Cassie took to Istanbul bloomed bright red, and Granny Zelda and Cassie haven't spoken since. Cassie is coming on Saturday. Can Ben find out by then why the same rose blooms black here and red over there?
Free story — no account needed to read it.
8 Minutes
4 Endings
9-10
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About This Story
“The Secret of the Black Rose” is an interactive educational story for children aged 9-10, about 8 minutes long. The reader decides how it goes at 5 choice points, and there are 4 different endings. It is free to read on Kitapz, with no account needed.
- Age range
- 9-10 years
- Reading time
- about 8 minutes
- Genre
- Educational
- Format
- Interactive · 5 choice points · 4 endings
- Language
- English, Turkish
- Access
- Free, no account needed
- Characters
- Ben, Cassie, Uncle Ken, Granny Zelda
- Collections
- Educational stories, Stories for ages 9-10
- Reading support
- dyslexia-friendly font, bionic reading, color-blindness filters
An Excerpt from the Story
On Monday morning, Granny Zelda called her grandson Ben over to the rosebush in the middle of the garden. The first bud facing the sun had opened. Ben bent down to look. Its petals were as soft as velvet, and its color was almost black.
Ben:
“It's so dark! Cassie will get to see this when she comes on Saturday!”
Granny Zelda suddenly went quiet. She slipped her clippers into her apron pocket and went inside without a word.
Ben remembered last autumn. His cousin Cassie had taken a cutting from this garden and planted it outside her flower shop in Istanbul. When the rose bloomed bright red, she had said on the phone that Granny Zelda had given her the wrong cutting. The two of them hadn't spoken since.
Ben (thinking):
Why did the same rose bloom red over there? I'll find out by Saturday. Then I'll make them make up right here by this rose.
“The Secret of the Black Rose” · Ages 9-10 · kitapz.com
school For Parents and Teachers
In this story, children join Ben in Halfeti as he chases the secret of the black rose, comparing rosebushes, asking questions and holding on to small clues. Alongside the plant puzzle, it takes seriously the hurt between a grandmother and a granddaughter who have stopped speaking. Readers' choices decide which clue Ben follows and who he talks to first.
What will children learn from this story?
- Learns about Halfeti's famous black rose and how a new rosebush can be grown from a single cutting.
- Practices putting two similar things side by side and keeping track of the differences to answer a question.
- Learns why it helps to look for evidence before deciding who is right in an argument.
- Thinks about how someone caught between two people who have fallen out can help while caring about both of their feelings.
Curriculum links: Science, Life skills, Social studies
Fact Box
Is Halfeti's black rose really black?
Not quite. The Halfeti black rose, registered in 2021 as a geographical indication by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, is a fragrant rose variety called Louis XIV, and its most distinctive feature is a very dark, almost black red. Its petals have a white line down the middle, and the color gets lighter as the flower opens and ages.
How are Halfeti black roses grown?
From cuttings. At pruning time, between late autumn and the end of winter, growers cut pieces of stem with one to three buds from healthy plants, plant them in prepared soil and water them straight away.
Why is the old town of Halfeti partly under water?
The reservoir behind the Birecik Dam on the Euphrates submerged most of the surrounding villages and part of the old town, so the town was moved to the village of Karaotlak. Today visitors take boat trips on the river and ferries to the ruins of the nearby Rumkale fortress.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does the Euphrates River begin and end?
The Euphrates, called the Fırat in Turkish, begins in eastern Turkey, where the Karasu and Murat rivers meet, and flows through Turkey, Syria and Iraq. In Iraq it joins the Tigris to form the Shatt al-Arab, which empties into the Persian Gulf. At about 2,800 km (roughly 1,700 miles), it is the longest river in Western Asia.
Source: Wikipedia
Reading Comprehension Questions (5W1H)
The questions cover the opening that every reader sees, whatever they choose. Tap a question to see the answer.
-
Who? Who passes the bottom of the garden on a tour boat and calls out to Ben?
Answer: Their neighbor Uncle Ken, who takes tourists out on the river.
-
What? What does Ben see when the first bud opens on Monday morning?
Answer: A rose with petals as soft as velvet and a color that is almost black.
-
Where? Where did Cassie plant the cutting she took from the garden?
Answer: Outside her flower shop in Istanbul.
-
When? When is Cassie coming?
Answer: On Saturday, and Ben wants to find out the rose's secret by then.
-
Why? Why have Granny Zelda and Cassie stopped speaking?
Answer: When Cassie's rose bloomed bright red in Istanbul, she said on the phone that Granny Zelda had given her the wrong cutting.
-
How? How does Granny Zelda get the water that Ben carries to the rosebushes?
Answer: She goes down to the bottom of the stone steps, fills the big bucket from the river and pours it into Ben's little bucket.
Questions to Talk About After Reading
- At the first choice, did you send Ben down to the dock to look at Uncle Ken's flowerpot, or have him call Cassie? Why did you pick that path?
- Ben is caught between two people he loves who aren't speaking to each other. Have you ever been stuck between two friends or relatives who had fallen out? What did you do, and how did it feel?
- When two people both say "I'm right", how can you find out what really happened? Would you look for evidence, listen to both sides, or do both?
- Have you ever seen two plants or animals of the same kind that looked different from each other? How would you go about finding out why?
Word List
- cutting
- A piece cut from a plant's stem that can be planted to grow a whole new plant.
- bud
- A flower before it has opened, with its petals still wrapped up tight.
- clippers
- Small, strong garden scissors for cutting stems and twigs.
- deck
- The flat floor on top of a boat where people stand and walk.
- bow
- The front end of a boat (it rhymes with "cow").
- awning
- A sheet of cloth stretched out over a shop front like a small roof.
Activity Idea
With a grown-up's help, snip a 10 cm (4 inch) piece from a mint or basil stem, pull off the lower leaves, stand it in a glass of water and draw its roots in a notebook every day for two weeks. Then talk about how Granny Zelda's rose could travel all the way to Istanbul as a single cutting.
Completion Rewards
What you'll earn when you finish this story: